Finely observed difficult relationships. A window into families of the fifties and earlier. Munro always makes me feel more cheerful about family histories, hers are so fraught with entwined dependence, escape, a wish for a true connection with equals never found for long and a return to roots difficult as they may be. ( )

I have read this collection about once a year since I discovered it in 2002. It could possibly fall into that category of "favorite book" if I were able to confess to having such a thing.

The Beggar Maid is a collection of short stories about the same characters, Rose and Flo, and if there is one central character it would have to be Rose. It follows Rose from her working-class Canadian childhood through adulthood which includes everything from anonymous suburban marriage and motherhood to being a famous TV personality.

It's hard for me to even say why I love this book so much, except to say it's probably the most real book I have ever read. ( )

A collection of short stories subtitles "Stories of Flo and Rose". They are for the most part in chronological order and tell of different periods of Rose's life growing up in Canada. Flo is her stepmother and Rose is brought up in a poor region before flushing toilets and televisions were around. She is a bright child and seems to want to move far away from her upbringing and forge her own life.

The tale follws her as she grows up and moves to Toronto. She gets a scholorship to go to college and has a mostly unsatisfactory relationship with Patrick followed by a 10 year marriage resulting in their daughter. He fantasises about her poor background without really realising where she comes from and calls her his "Beggar Maid". Rose is restles and wants to keep moving and eventually the marriage breaks down. She spends some time in acting and on the radio before becoming a teacher.

This was an itneresting collection and my first of Munro's. I know she is well regarded as a short story author, but I wouldn't recommend this collection to someone new to her work. I felt that she had much better writing in her, but am intrigued to read more in the future. There wasn't much about Flo in the collection despite the subtitle, btu I did warm to both her and Rose. All in all middle of the road from an author I expected more of. ( )

A slow, observant tale with it's own rhythms. Fantastic.

This is one of those books that I will go back to for the rest of my life. I first read it in my early 20s, and since then I have been picking it up and reading bits of it whenever I needed a lift. If I make it to old age, this will be one of the books that I bring to the nursing home with me.

I love how these stories follow Rose through the course of her life - from childhood beatings through to affairs, divorce, children, and middle age. Munro is fantastic at creating plot within each story, but also on a larger scale throughout the collection. Her writing is beautiful and she is a brilliant psychologist and philosopher making so many astute statements about life and people. I love how everyday moments and details become so revealing and important in her work. I highly recommend this book. ( )